2 builders who never spoke to each other

Buy the product whose users are already asking for you

When a rival announces it is retiring and its customers start emailing you about importing their data, contact the owner and offer to buy it rather than waiting for the refugees. Carry their history across intact and build the one feature they were attached to, because an overlapping customer list is worth more than the software attached to it.

The method

1. 01

   When a rival announces it is shutting down and its users start asking you to take their data, contact the owner directly and offer to buy the product.

2. 02

   Take over an acquired product's customers by carrying their history across intact and building the one feature they were attached to.

3. 03

   Selling more to people who already buy from you is dramatically cheaper than finding strangers, which is why an acquirer with a complementary product will value your customer list above your product.

What it returned

• 2026

  ReportGarden said in March 2026 it was retiring Gauges, Gauges customers began emailing Fathom about importing data, Jack Ellis emailed the CEO, and the deal closed on 15 April.

• Fathom migrated Gauges customers with their historical data preserved and committed to adding Air Traffic Live, the feature Gauges users liked, as a proper part of the product.

• The author lists cross-selling and up-selling across two overlapping customer bases as a better use of an acquirer's money than spending the same amount on marketing

Sources

• Selling My Bootstrapped SaaS Business - Tyler TringasTyler Tringas · tylertringas.com · What made Storemapper sell-able · 2017-10-03
• Fathom acquires Gauges - Fathom AnalyticsJack Ellis · usefathom.com · A brief history · 2026-04-20